The present invention is directed to a scrub brush intended primarily for hands and knees type scrubbing. Scrub brushes for this purpose are old and well-known in the art. Perhaps the most frequently encountered scrub brush comprises a wooden, block-like body having a plurality of scrubbing bristles extending downwardly from its underside. A problem with this type of brash lies in the fact that the user must not only expend effort in the scrubbing operation, but also must engage the sides of the brush body with considerable force to keep the brush from slipping out of the user's hand. In order to ease this problem, brushes have been devised wherein the block-like body is provided along its side edges with recesses adapted to receive the thumb and fingers of the user. An example of this type of brush is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 1,398,864. It is not uncommon, however, for the user to scrape his knuckles on the surface being scrubbed when using brushes of this general type.
To further improve the engagement of the brash by the user's hand, prior art workers have devised a number of scrub brushes with handle means. U.S. Pat. No. D. 266,458 is exemplary of prior art patents teaching handled scrub brushes.
The present invention is directed to an improved scrub brush and handle combination wherein the handle has a grip portion spaced upwardly from the brush body. The grip portion has a longitudinal configuration in the form of a shallow S-curve whereby the forward end of the handle grip is spaced from the top surface of the brash body by a distance slightly greater than is the rearward end of the grip. The thickness of the handle grip increases from its rearward end toward its forward end, as does its width. By virtue of its configuration, the handle of the present invention may be grasped by the user's hand in a number of ways and with either end of the brash extending forwardly of the user's hand. This flexibility of hand positioning allows the user to change from time-to-time to keep weariness from hand strain to a minimum.
The grip portion of the scrub brush handle is high enough to protect the user's knuckles from scrapping the surface being scrubbed. On the other hand, the grip is sufficiently wide and low to add stability to the brush during the scrubbing operation. No matter which end of the brash extends forwardly of the user's hand, the grip provides a comfortable rest for the heel of the user's hand, allowing the heel of the user's hand to apply direct pressure for easier and more natural hands and knees type scrubbing.
The brush and its handle arrangement are such that the user's hand can engage the brash in several "no-grip" ways, for those users whose hand are physically impaired, arthritic, or the like.